Resources for Physicians

Center for the Employed Physician

The Physicians Foundation has awarded the Center for a Healthy Maryland, Inc., an affiliate of MedChi, a grant in the amount of $97,977 for the establishment of the Center for the Employed Physician. The proposed Center will create resources and educational programming which meet the needs of physicians in Maryland who are employed by hospitals or large group practices. This is the first year that the Center for a Healthy Maryland has won an award from the Physicians Foundation. The Foundation has awarded Medical Practice Support Grants to six organizations totaling $588,762.

“We are very pleased that the Center for a Healthy Maryland at MedChi has been recognized for our extensive experience in physician training and advocacy,” said Gene Ransom, CEO of MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society. “We anticipate that The Center for the Employed Physician will serve as a model for other state medical societies and physician professional organizations in meeting the unique needs of the employed physician and those considering a transition to the employed setting.”

MedChi’s Employed Physicians Committee will serve as an advisory group for this project. If you would like additional information about the grant, contact Ginger Tinsley, Director of Membership, at 410-539-0872 ext. 3330.

Breast Cancer Resources

The Teaching Providers, Reaching Women toolkit is now available online!

Requirements for Perinatal HIV Counseling, Testing and Referral: A Toolkit for Physicians

Regulations were approved in December 2009, following the enactment of the 2008 HIV/AIDS legislation aimed at reducing barriers to HIV testing in Maryland. A toolkit was developed by the Center in collaboration with the Infectious Disease and Environmental Health Administration, DHMH, which includes the latest information regarding HIV counseling, testing, and referral requirements in Maryland. Download the 2010 Requirements for HIV Counseling, Testing, and Referral Toolkit.

Cultural Competency CME Courses

Did you know that one in every ten persons in the United States is foreign-born? In Maryland, 12.6% of the population speaks a language other than English at home. Differences in language, culture, and background can result in poor communication between physicians and their patients, contributing to rising costs in healthcare.

Below is a list of online cultural competency CME Courses. Some of the courses are free and some have a fee, please visit the websites below for more information regarding the course and its requirements.

A Physician’s Practical Guide to Culturally Competent Care
The Office of Minority Health at the US Department of Health and Human Services is offering the course, “A Physician’s Practical Guide to Culturally Competent Care.” This 9 continuing medical education credit course is being offered at no charge to practicing physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. Visit https://www.thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov/ for more information and to register.

Patient Safety

A primary goal of the Center is to promote activities to reduce medical errors and patient injuries. One important strategy in this effort is to improve communication between health care providers and their patients. In the United States today, about 90 million citizens do not understand basic health information and instructions. In our increasingly multi-cultural society, not only is health literacy a major concern, but the ability of patients and providers to effectively communicate due to language and cultural barriers is becoming a serious problem. The Center strives to educate the medical community and health care consumers about emergent health issues. Click on the following links for more information about patient safety:

Interpreter Resources

Physicians are required by law to provide foreign and sign language interpreters, if requested by a patient. With support from the Quality Health Foundation, the Center for a Healthy Maryland has created an online database of linguistic resources to help physicians address the language needs of their patients. In developing this database, the Center surveyed clinicians to determine the status of health literacy, language and cultural differences among their patients in addition to identifying barriers to effective communication and resources needed.